All for a Slave
by Dragonbooks249
Summary: Puzzleshipping, Tendershipping, probable Bronzeshipping and Puppyshiping. Anzu/Vivian bashing. Ancient Egypt. Future Mpreg. Rated T for now, rating will probably go up later. If any of that interests you, the full summary is inside. All kind of feedback welcome! Flames only help me make a better story.
1. All For a Party

So, welcome! Glad you decided to check out this fic. This is my first fic for my absolute favorite Yu-Gi-Oh shipping, Puzzleshipping! *runs around throwing confetti and waving a nonexistent flag* This isn't my first fanfic, that one is called "Down the Proverbial Rabbit Hole" and is for another anime called HunterXHunter. If you like that fandom, check it out of you want.

Part of the reason I'm posting this is because life has dropped a serious pile of "don't care" on me and I'm up to my eyeballs in it bad because ideas for stories for this fandom are _really_ clogging up my brain. This is my *starts ticking off fingers and muttering to herself* 6th, yes 6th idea for a long running story with this pairing. Not including the numerous one-shot ideas. So, I need to clear it out. :) But, what am I doing rambling on? Here's what you clicked for.

Summary: At the 14th birthday celebration of the crown prince of Egypt, Yami, two lords present the young prince with a gift unlike any other, an amethyst eyed slave boy from the far off land of Japan. The boy, named Yugi, is made into Yami's personal servant and a bond quickly forms. As the years go by, the slave and master fall deeply in love with each other. But nothing is simple for the two lovers; a deadly duo of jealous princess, an uncle turned bitter, and an enemy waiting in the shadows. Can the couple endure the challenges, or will the black reaper of death come to call?*

Warnings: boyxboy pairings (duh, if you don't like it why did you click?), Anzu and Vivien bashing, violence/blood, eventual Mpreg, and a possible lemon (there will be some citrus here in one form or another). So if you have a problem with any of that, GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FIC!

Also note that I have split Anzu in two, I guess you could say; the bad one that I'm bashing and the good one that I think is a much more accurate depiction of the character, which I'm going to call by her English name, Tea. So remember, Anzu=evil and Tea=good.

Still here? Good, thanks. I have found the HunterXHunter fandom to be very supportive and I hope this one is too. Let me know if I'm any good at writing romance! Or if you want me to tell you of my other ideas. I have titles and everything. But I'm only likely to start writing another fic if I think my others are doing well. Or by popular demand, which I doubt. After all, this is the first chapter of my first story in this fandom. ^^

*sorry if this sucks or is cheesy, I suck at summaries.

"Egyptian", " **Japanese** "

Chapter one of my first Puzzleshipping fic! Happy reading! =]

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The throne room was decorated lavishly; the stone floors were polished until they shone, silken drapes hung on the walls, and the perfectly positioned torches bathed the room in golden light. There were dancers performing for the guests in the middle of the hall, the lords and ladies of upper and lower Egypt who were all here to celebrate the 14th birthday of the crown prince. It was an opportunity for the lords and ladies to scope out the others, trying to see who was failing and who was succeeding all to find out what move would give them more power. Only a very few among the guests actually cared about the prince who was the reason they were all there.

While the lords and ladies were mingling, trying to find trivial flaws with others, the young crown prince was hiding from his own party. The young boy preferred to be called Yami by his friends and family, even though it was not his real name. Yami's sharp crimson eyes were darting back and forth, hoping to avoid two people in particular. So far, he had been successful with his efforts, in no small part from his closest friends diverting the two she devils away from him. Had they not helped, his wild tricolored hair would have gotten him caught by now. The body of it was black, tipped in the same crimson as his eyes with golden bangs framing his face and shooting up in it as well.

Currently, the young prince was hiding behind some of the drapes near the throne. Unknown to him, there were two figures coming up behind him. One of them shot out a hand to grab the unsuspecting boy's shoulder. Yami cried out in surprise and maybe a little fear. And turned towards the two figures. One of them was laughing hysterically while the other was rolling his eyes at the foolishness of the other.

When Yami saw who it was, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods it's you two. I thought those two bitches found me." The two bitches Yami was referring to were a pair of princesses offered to the young prince as prospective wives and peace offerings from their home countries by the names of Anzu and Vivian. They had only been living at the palace for ten months but had already gained Yami's disgust. The two girls were barely older than 13 but still used every chance they go to try to "seduce" Yami, despite the fact that the had bluntly told them on multiple accounts that he preferred men to women.

"Don't worry _Pharaoh_ , Ryou and I told those two that you were wandering around the gardens. Marik and Malik have quite the surprise for them." The laughing one managed to stop when Ryou elbowed him in the ribs muttering an annoyed, " _Bakura"_ under his breath. At first glance, the two could pass as twins. They shared the same snowy white hair and pale skin, but at a second, the differences between to two became clear. Bakura's hair was noticeably spikyer and he had hard russet eyes while Ryou's were a much softer doe brown.

Yami narrowed his eyes and glared at Bakura. "The diversion is much appreciated, but I've told you before, _Theif_ , I'm not pharaoh yet, nor will I be for a while." Bakura returned the glare, but there was no real malice in either. The two boys had been this way since they were eight years old.

They had first met when they were seven after Yami's father, Aknankanon, had heard that there was a survivor of the one thing he considered his greatest mistake, Kul Elna. At first, the two boys had constantly been at each other's throats, Bakura not accepting that the Pharaoh genuinely regretted what happened to his village and thought that he had only taken him in to keep the angry spirits of his village from coming after his son for revenge.

As a result, for the first few months, both boys despised the other. But the two had been able to see past their differences when both of them were kidnapped together by mercenaries and held for ransom. By working together and even saving each other a few times, they managed to escape and make it back to the palace relatively unscathed. The two had been best friends ever since. The only problem was that they never found out who hired the mercenaries to kidnap them.

"Maybe if you had a personal servant like I do, it would give a hint to them to leave you alone." Bakura said tauntingly as he put his arm around Ryou's shoulder. The shorter boy had a light dusting of blush on his face when Bakura did so. Everyone in their friend group was aware that the two had feelings for the other ever since Bakura found Ryou at a slave auction two years ago and made his smaller look alike his personal servant. Everyone, but them that is.

Yami just rolled his eyes. "As if those two airheads would be capable of taking it. I bet I could scream in their faces that I hated their guts, and they still wouldn't get it."

Ryou, still with the blush, cleared his throat and told Yami, "Your father sent us to tell you that is was time for the guests present gifts."

Inwardly, Yami groaned. He hated this part of his birthday because it was just the lords showing off their wealth and sucking up to him. Yami thanked Bakura and Ryou as he went over to take his place sending by his father's throne. The priests were standing three to each side of it, including his cousin, Seto.

As Yami took his place standing on the right of the throne, the pharaoh Aknankanon gave a formal nod to his son and greeted, "Atem"

Again, Yami inwardly groaned as he returned the nod with an equally formal, "Father" Yami wished that his father would call him by his nickname like he had before his mother died just under four years ago. His mother had an affinity for Japan and it's culture so when she saw her son's fearlessness and fascination the dark, she had affectionately nicknamed the boy 'Yami'.

As his father announced that it was time to present the gifts, Yami felt the familiar dull ache in his heart at how distant the man had been with his one and only heir ever since his mother passed on from a disease. But Yami thought he knew why. He had inherited his mother's lighter skin tone, crimson eyes and tips, along with his golden bangs. Yami had been told multiple times how much he resembled the late queen.

Finally, after accepting meaningless gift after meaningless gift with somewhat curt nods, they were on the last one. It was the only gift that Yami thought that he might actually enjoy; the gift from the only two lords he liked, the brothers Pegasus and Dartz.

The younger Pegasus stood in front of the throne and flamboyantly spread his arms and proudly proclaimed, "My lords, I dare say that the gift my brothers and I have discovered will be the best of the night." This made all the other lords glare venomously at the man; they all knew that he was probably right.

"We found this little gem on our trip to Japan. The moment we saw him, we knew we had to gift him to our prince." Yami's interest was peaked. Pegasus had said 'he' and 'him', which meant that whatever their gift was, it was living. His favorite steed was a gift from them, in fact.

But what, or rather who, he saw Dartz leading forward took Yami's breath away. He was the most beautiful person Yami had ever laid eyes on.

His pale, almost white skin, made it easy to see his Japanese lineage. The boy was small in stature, maybe a head shorter than Yami himself and dressed in plain servants clothes. The most striking thing about his appearance was his star shaped hair much like his own, only an extra lock of golden hair hanging down the middle of his forehead instead of shooting up into it and tipped in amethyst instead of crimson.

All that was enough to capture his attention, but what really drew him in was the fact that the boy looked completely and utterly terrified. His eyes were tightly screwed shut, tears leaking out and streaming down the side of his face while he was trembling where he stood. Yami immediately wanted to pull the little one in his arms and comfort him.

Aknankanon raised his eyebrows. "What is this? The boy looks hardly older than 10 years." The pharaoh had a firm policy that all children were to remain with their parents until their 12th year at least.

"No need to worry, my pharaoh." Dartz said. "The boy is thirteen yea so even though he may not look it."

Aknankanon nodded and gestured for them to go on. Pegasus picked up right where he left off, "My brother and I were searching through the market when we saw a slave auction with the little one being auctioned off. We were aware that the young prince was interested with getting a personal servant and knew he would be perfect for the job. And while we were there, the auctioneer also informed us that this boy is a hikari."

There were gasps and whispers from around the room, including Yami's own. Though 'hikari' was a Japanese term they all knew what it meant; a male able to conceive children like a woman. Yami felt a surge of protectiveness for the little one, especially when he saw that the boy had visibly flinched when Pegasus had said the word. The little one had yet to open his eyes.

Hikaris were rare and highly prized as most were very beautiful. They often made the best attendants with their submissive and obedient nature. Their naturally kind and understanding temperaments also made them ideal mother's and nursemaids. But there were many men who would take advantage of them. The two brothers were gaining even more envious glares, once again, their gift far out shone theirs.

"So we would like to present this precious gift to the crown prince of Egypt." Darts stepped forward so he could hand the rope binding the boy's wrists to Yami. "We hope he serves you well, my prince. Take care of him."

Yami just stood there for a moment, studying the boy's face as his father dismissed the guests. His eyes were still firmly shut and Yami wondered what color his eyes were. Bakura and Ryou came up to him after the guests had gone. They both studied the boy for a moment then Bakura smirked, "So now you have your own. Better take good care of him." And then he left for his own chambers. Ryou whispered "Be gentle." as advice and gave the boy a sympathetic look. After all, he was a hikari too.

Gently, like Ryou suggested, Yami lead the little one back to his chambers. Along the way he spotted his friends Marik and Malik with wild grins in the hall. They both gave him thumbs up and Marik winked. Yami thanked the gods that he didn't encounter Anzu or Vivian, they would only scare the little one even more.

They reached Yami's chamber without incident and Yami lead the boy to the room for his personal servant. When he touched the little one to get his wrists unbound, for the first time his eyes snapped open and he let out a terrified squeak. After taking in his surroundings, he turned to look at Yami.

And Yami was greeted with the most dazzling amethyst gems he had ever seen. Though the fear in them was stark naked, their beauty was undeniable and had the crown prince of Egypt completely spell bound. He suddenly wondered what they'd look like when the little one was laughing.

The spell was broken when once again, eyelids covered those stunning orbs and their owner began pleading, "Please don't hurt me." over and over again.

Yami gently took the little one's chin in his hand and had him look him in the eye. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you." After freeing the boy's hands and putting down the rope, Yami asked, "Do you need anything?"

At the little one's confused and uncertain look, Yami realized that he hay have a very limited knowledge of the Egyptian language. "Do you speak Egyptian?" he asked softly.

"Some." The boy uncertainty muttered.

" **Would you prefer if I spoke Japanese?"** Yami was suddenly extremely grateful that his mother had taught him to speak Japanese.

The boy's head shot up in surprise. **"You speak Japanese?"**

" **Yes. My mother taught me before she died."**

The boy's head shifted to the floor again. **"My condolences."**

Yami studied the little one and saw that he meant what he said. Most of the time when people said that, it was only because it was proper. **"Thank you. Do you need anything?"**

The boy shook his head. **"No, my prince."**

Yami frowned at "my prince". He didn't want the little one to call him that. **"What's your name, little one?"** Yami was tired of calling him either 'the boy' or 'little one'.

" **Yugi, my prince."** Yugi blushed slightly at being called 'little one' but it also made him feel safer than he had in months.

Smiling, Yami asked, **"Yugi means 'game', doesn't it?"** Yugi simply nodded. **"Well then, Yugi, you may call me Yami."**

Again, Yugi blinked in surprise. **"But shouldn't I call you by your title? I'm only a slave."** Then another thing hit him, **"And why 'yami'? It means darkness."** Then realizing what he said, Yugi ducked his head again.

Yami chuckled. **"True, you have to call me either 'prince Atem' or 'prince Yami' in public, but Yami will do when we are alone or among friends. I'm well aware what 'yami' means and I like to be called that because it was what my mother called me."**

" **Okay… Yami."** Yugi smiled at the way the name felt in his mouth.

Yami smiled back at Yugi and told him, **"We'll work on you Egyptian later. For know we should both get some rest. I'll tell you your duties as my personal servant tomorrow. Until then, I wish you goodnight Yugi."**

Yugi bowed slightly to him. **"Goodnight Yami. Until tomorrow."**

As Yami laid in his bed that night, he pondered his newest gift. There was a feeling deep in his heart that Yugi would be the most precious gift to be ever given to him. With that sweet thought, Yami fell asleep.

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So? Love it? Hate it? Anything you have questions on? Well, I know I would love some feedback from any and all who took the time to read this. And if anyone out there has also read my other fanfiction, please let me know you're there! Love you all, until next time! Hope the chapter will be longer next time. ^w^


	2. All For a New Home

Sorry this took so long, but I just love this pairing to death and was SOOO paranoid about just screwing the whole thing up. Must have spent more agonized over this chapter than actually writing it. T^T I'll get better with the updates, just need to get the feel of everything.

Not really much else to say right now, so I'll just get on with the replies to the reviews.

Replies to Reviews:

The last Nightwalker - Thank you so much for reading and reviewing the story! SOOO sorry I haven't been able to keep up on yours, it's just that when I start reading it, my mind wanders and I want to be able to devote all of my attention when I'm reading and reviewing it. It will be the first HXH fanfic I read as soon as these bunnies subside. Anyway, with the split character, I was on the fence as to whether to do it or not, but then I had a great idea for the good one(Tea)! It should be extremely easy to tell who's who in the context they are put in, so it will be clear. As for the passing of the pairing, I'm creeping an eye on it, I want it to be realistic. The concept of 'love at first sight' is fun and all, but for this story it'll be more of an attraction before love. It'll be a good few chapters before they get together. Hope you like it! ^w^ (I'm learning more faces)

Alice Harkey - Glad you like it! Really do want to finish this story, I love it.

Ern Estine 13624 - Hope this is what you were waiting for!

ForeverWildfire2.0 - Glad to hear that! Hope I don't disappoint.

Guest - I love these likes of stories too, I fully intend to continue with this story.

Now, Here's chapter two!

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Yugi awoke in an unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar bed. Immediately he bolted upright, a wave of fear rushing through his mind. As the events of last night surfaced, he relaxed and fell back on the bed with a sigh of relief. Despite Yami's kind words, Yugi still had a slight fear that the prince would sneak into his bed at night and have his way with him.

For the first time since his grandpa died, nearly five months ago, Yugi relaxed. He still keenly remembered the fear of standing on that stage, being presented by the auctioneer as a pleasure slave. The sheer lust in the eyes of the men making bids on him made him want to vomit. To rub salt in the wound, it had been his 13th birthday. In Japan, it was illegal for anyone under the age of 13 to be sold as a pleasure slave.

When he heard the winning bid, Yugi sobbed in fear. The fear diminished somewhat when he noted the lack of lust in the eyes of the two men who had bought him, but returned full force when he was told he was to be a gift to the Egyptian prince. For the two months of travel, Yugi's overactive mind produced an image of an arrogant, greedy man who would only use him for his own pleasure.

That image had begun to crack when the rope was handed to the young prince. Yugi expected to be roughly pulled along by him, not gently lead like he was. Then, it was completely destroyed when Yugi saw the kindness and worry in his eyes when he assured him that he wouldn't hurt him. But, even so, Yugi was not totally at ease with the person he had been given to.

Looking out the small window in his room, he saw the sun was rising. With a faint smile, Yugi mused that most of the people in his new home would say Ra was rising. Getting up slowly, Yugi looked around what he supposed was his new room.

There was his small bed pushed into the farthest corner from the door and a small window a little ways above it. In the small dresser there were a few changes of cloths that consisted of four plain tunics and matching shenti. One pair of simple sandals were sitting at the bottom near the dresser, roughly his size. Lastly, there was a deep crimson sash with a golden eye in the center of it. Yugi guessed this was to be worn around the waist to show his status as a personal servant.

Yugi changed into his new clothes and not knowing what else to do, waited for Yami to come in and tell him his duties. While he waited for the prince to make an appearance, Yugi took stock of his current situation.

He knew that as a personal servant, the only one who could punish him was his master, in this case, Yami. The translated had been kind enough to teach him some key phrases and briefly tell him about what his life would become once he got to Egypt before they departed.

At first, the thought of one person having complete and total control of his life had horrified Yugi, and while it still deeply disturbed him, he gradually grew to accept it. Now if it was a person like Yami in control, at least the person he seemed like, it may not be so bad.

Still, there was a small part of Yugi that feared that the person who seemed so kind to him last night was just a farce to get him to lower his guard so he could more easily bed him. A ripple of disgust flowed through Yugi at the thought. But still, if he played his cards right, and Yami was the kind person he was the night before, this new life could be better than any life he could have had back in Japan.

Yugi heard the door to his small room open and he turned to see the object of his current pondering standing in the doorway. Yami smiled warmly at Yugi. **"Good morning Yugi. Did you sleep well?"** Yugi simply nodded. Yami gestured for him to follow into his room. **"Okay Yugi, from this point on you will be responsible for cleaning my room when it becomes messy, waking me in the mornings, and preparing my morning bath and cloths. Other than that, you are to remain at my side and do whatever I tell you. Got it?"**

Yugi nodded again. Seemed straight forward. Nervously he asked, **"Yami, would it be possible for you to start teaching me Egyptian now, or do we have somewhere to be?"**

They didn't have somewhere to be at that time, in fact Yami had woken earlier so they could squeeze in a small lesson before breakfast. By the end of it, Yugi had a firm grasp on the vocabulary and some necessary dialogue for communicating on things relating to Yami's morning routine. He was a surprisingly fast learner.

On the way to breakfast, Yami told Yugi how he was expected to act and where he was supposed to be to show respect. They would also meet Yami's friends after as this breakfast was for the royal family, their counsel, and guests. He also gave his servant a brief warning about the two princesses after him. They would be attending because until Yami was officially old enough to dismiss them as potential wives, at 17, they were treated as honorary Egyptian royalty. As long as they wanted to be here, they would stay. Yugi was slightly troubled over that matter, but Yami assured him that it would be fine.

Just as Yami finished his warning, as though conjured up by the mention, one of the dreaded duo caught them outside the dining room. "Good morning Yami. I'm so sorry that I didn't get to see you at the party last night, I was given false information." Anzu came around the corner from the hall leading to her rooms. Yami had a strong suspicion that she had been waiting for them.

Yami winced on the inside but politely gave a rather stiff bow. She hadn't done anything too aggravating. Yet. "Good morning to you _princess_ Anzu." putting extra emphasis on her title, "I must remind you again that you don't have my permission to call me by that name; I am still _prince Atem_ to you." Next to him, Yugi copied Yami's bow but remained silent.

Which was probably best for him. Anzu merely pouted, or tried to, at the correction and wined lightly, "But there isn't any need for things to be so formal between us. After all, we _could_ be married one day." She added what she thought was a suggestive look, but her exaggerated eyes made it look more repulsive than anything. "Even if you end up marrying more than one, I'm sure _I'll_ be the one to provide you with an heir."

Yugi had had about enough of the girl's inexperienced attempts at being seductive, and sought to rescue his new master from his obvious discomfort. Even though he could only understand a small portion of what she was saying, it was enough to to irritate even him. Clearing his throat lightly he calmly stated in his own tongue, **"Prince Yami, shouldn't we head into the dining hall now?"**

Anzu took notice of the pale slave by Yami's side for the first time. Her eyes narrowed with surprise and a certain amount of suspicion. She recalled Yami's frequent denies that he was even interested in women, rather blatantly telling both her and the other persistent princess that he had a much stronger interest in men. That and, the boy had spoken in her native language. **"And just who are you, slave? Who are you to call the prince by his nickname?"**

Shocked by both the harshness of the tone and the fact that it was spoken in Japanese was enough to leave Yugi stunned speeches. Yami saved his new servant from replying when he did so for him, keeping the language so Yugi could understand. **"This is Yugi, my new personal** _ **servant**_ **. He was one of my gifts last night. As you can tell, he is Japanese, just like you. I gave him permission to use my nickname last night."**

Sending a glare at the girl, Yami pushed past her to the open door of the dining hall. He hated calling anyone outside of condemned criminals slaves. **"At any rate, Yugi, you are right. Everyone else should be waiting for us now."** Yami quickly grabbed Yugi by the shoulder and steered them both into the dining hall before the princesses could respond.

Yugi allowed himself to be lead quietly; he was still going over the fact that there was a Japanese princess in the Egyptian palace. Vaguely, he recalled hearing how the emperor had given his twin daughters as a peace offering to one of their allies. _Wait,_ he thought, _if Anzu is one of them, where us the other?_

Yami mentioned that there were many countries that had offered daughters as potential wives, but both Yami and his father had given the girls a choice as to whether they wanted to do, instead of forcing them. Most had decided to go back to their home countries, but as far as he knew, the other princess had not returned. He had also mentioned that the two princess were from different countries, so that left the one princess unaccounted for.

Just as Yugi snapped out of his trance, he was being gently pushed down onto a pillow by what was presumably the prince's chair, on the hand right side of the pharaoh. The man in question was already seated and acknowledged his son with a very formal nod of the head. Yugi noticed the saddened look that flickered across Yami's face for a moment before he returned the gesture and took his seat.

Anzu came in shortly afterwards and sat down a few seats away from Yami on the opposite side. There were other people there and Yami whispered some of their names to Yugi. There was the holder of the millennium tonk and palace healer, Isis; the court magician and cure t holder of the millennium ring, Mahad; the holder of the millennium eye and Yami's uncle Aknadin; and Seto, Yami's cousin, high priest in training, and holder of the millennium rod. There were others, but Yami stopped after his father gave him a warning look.

Another girl entered then and had Yugi staring. She looked like an almost identical copy of Anzu! The same brown hair, pale skin, and rounded blue eyes. But while they were identical in appearance, their attitudes seemed opposite. The princes had a kind look to her, with soft facial features and relaxed, graceful movements. Her sister had rigged features and a way that she moved that showed she thought herself above everyone else.

"I'm sorry I'm late my pharaoh. I overslept this morning." The princess bowed respectfully.

The pharaoh merely gave a warm smile and kindly said, "That's perfectly alright, princess Tea. You are not the only one to be late to breakfast." He looked around at the table as Tea took her seat. Which was next to Yami, to Yugi's surprise. "Does anyone know where princess Vivien is?"

"She told me that she felt ill this morning and couldn't come to breakfast." Anzu spoke up. "We were in a little accident last night and fell into the pond in the gardens."

The pharaoh nodded and didn't look particularly displeases at the prospect of not having the other princess at the table. "Well then, everyone is here, so we may start eating."

Everyone at the table started to put the food that was laid out on plates in the center of the table on to their own. Yami got a separate smaller plate and gave it to Yugi. Yugi mumbled his thanks and as he was given bread, fruit, and some meat. He was itching to question Yami as to why one princess was seated right next to him while her sister clearly annoyed him.

As it turned out, he didn't need to ask any questions because Tea started a conversation on her own. She turned slightly towards Yugi and gave a comforting smile. **"So, you are the one that is Yami's new servant. I heard about you last night, but I couldn't get a good look at you. Has everything been alright for you? What's your name?"**

This time it wasn't the fact that it was spoken in his language that shocked him, it was the fact that the tone was again the exact opposite of Anzu's and directed at him no less. When he didn't answer, Tea eyed Yami and said sternly, **"You didn't do anything to him,** _ **right**_ **Yami?"**

In response, Yami gave a mock hurt look. **"Oh really Tea, do you think so low of me to actually believe I'd do anything to harm him?"**

" **Not on purpose…"** Tea started, but Yugi interrupted her by saying, **"Prince Yami has been nothing but kind to me since last night. I was merely startled that you would want to talk to me."** Then, realizing that he interrupted royalty, he bowed to her and desperately said, **"My apologies, my princess. Please forgive me."**

There was a light chuckle from said princess. **"There is nothing to apologize for, you were just answering the question I asked you earlier. Now, can you answer my other question, what's your name?"**

Yugi stayed bowed but said clearly, **"My name is Yugi, my princess."**

Again Tea gave a light laugh. **"You can get off the floor and drop the formalities. I'm sure Yami has already told you how to address him and you can address me in the same way. I hate being called 'princess' all day."**

Lifting his head off the floor, Yugi saw the genuine kindness and tenderness in Tea's eyes and relaxed immediately. From then on the three of them had pleasant conversation, but Yugi gradually noticed the glares coming from Anzu. After a while, Yugi summoned up the courage to ask his question. **"Tea, if I may be so bold as to ask, but why is your sister glaring at us like that?"**

Tea gave a sad look at her sister and calmly stated, **"My sister and I have never been close. She always relished being a princess and getting what she wanted. When our father told us we were being given away to a foreign country as brides for its prince, she was ecstatic and I didn't like it at all. We were taught Egyptian and sent off. I hated it because I always wanted to live my own life but I knew it would never happen simply because I was a princess and basically a token to be given away to improve relations with other countries or as a reward."**

Yami nudged her arm and said, **"Well, it's not all bad is it? After all, you found out that I had no interest in marrying either of you and now you get a shot at your dream."**

She smiled. **"That is true."**

There was still one thing that Yugi wanted to ask, **"If you don't have to stay to marry Yami, why didn't you go back home?"**

" **What and get sold off again?"** Tea wrinkled her nose at the prospect. **"You heard Yami, here I can live my dreams like I never could back home. If I did go back, I would just end up engaged to some other prince or stuffy noble's son."**

" **What is your dream Tea?"**

" **Dancing."** Tea gained a dreamy eyed look. **"I'd always wanted to dance, but my father didn't think it was something a proper princess should learn to do. Some dancers back home were kind enough to give me lessons, but they had to stop when father threatened to fire them. Now, here I can make a fresh start as a dancer once Yami is old enough to dismiss me."**

Yugi smiled kindly at the princess that he already viewed as a friend. **"I know you can do it."** he chirped encouragingly. **"Just by the way you were moving when you came in shows that you have a natural talent."**

Tea gave a soft, grateful smile. She could tell Yugi meant every word he said. **"Thank you Yugi."** she breathed genuinely.

The rest of breakfast was filled with pleasant conversation until the pharaoh dismissed everybody. Yami signaled his cousin Seto to meet them by the door out to the hall and Yugi gave an awkward bow to him as he approached.

The chestnut haired priest glanced over him with his ice blue eyes before he walked ahead of them to wherever they were going. Yami looked over at Yugi and cheerfully asked, **"So, are you ready to meet the rest of my friends? Don't let the weird mix startle you."**

Yugi could only nod as he was being lead away towards the meeting, and, his new life.

* * *

Sorry this wasn't as long as I'd hoped, but I felt guilty that I had taken three dumb weeks to update this fic, so I decided to just get it out. I will apologize again if this was a little boring, but it's necessary. I'll get to (what I think is) the good stuff next chapter.

Any and all feedback is welcome. If you want something to be in Yugi meeting everyone else, just request it in a review and I'll try to squeeze it in. See you next time. =]


	3. All For New People

Sorry for my absence, lots of things happening at once in my life. But, you don't want to know about that, you want to read the next chapter of my story, so, onwards! ^_^

Replies to reviews:

The last Nightwalker - So glad you are enjoying the story so far! I'll get back to your story probably within a month from now, so I should be reviewing for your story real soon! And with the drama bit, I'm equal parts scared and excited to write it. I just hope I can do it well and that my plots aren't _too_ predictable. Mind you that I have a love of well written clichés, so… but I'm not to sure on the 'well written' part… Well, there are a couple of twists that I hope I can pull off, wish me luck! ^^'

Ern Estine 13624 - Yeah, I always liked Tea and admired her dream of wanting to be a dancer, so I'm going to be pretty nice to her in this fic, considering I'm bashing Anzu now and will be doing it harder later. Hope I don't keep you waiting as long with the next one. :D

ForeverWildfire2.0 - Yugi will meet the other hikaris in this chapter. I hope I can pull everything off well enough. And yes, Joey is in the palace. ;)

InuYoisuhi - Hope you enjoy the next installment.

YurukaMuto A.S.M - Glad you think it's good. On the matter of Yugi's first time, I would think it would be a little self explanatory that it would be as you requested it, but for clarification, they will share it. If you know what I mean.^_* It won't be for a good number of chapters, but it will be there! And on a side note, THANK YOU FOR THE IDEA! I had another puzzleshipping story on my mind that I do want to write but was going to hold back because the start was shaky, but your suggestion fixed that right up! That will be my next puzzleshipping story. ^w^

Yume blossom - I can only hope you enjoy the next part of the story and all that follows. :)

Guest - Hope you like it!

"Egyptian" **"Japanese"**

Without further ado, chapter 3! ^_^

* * *

Yugi followed Yami and Tea into what looked like a common room of a sort. What caught Yugi's attention first was a small dip in the middle of the room with a small fire pit and benches around it. Plush looking couches were on either sides of the pit and individual chairs were beside them. Off to the right was a game table and a balcony on the left.

There were already seven people including Seto there. Currently, Seto was arguing with a blond slightly shorter than him. Their argument had three spectators on a neer by couch; a brunette with amusement dancing in her emerald eyes and two insane looking boys. Though the snowy haired one looked more in control than the sandy haired one.

On another couch seemingly ignoring the others chattering pleasantly were the last two occupants of the room who looked like the previous two boys' sane doubles. It was the snowy haired sane one that noticed them first. "About time you got here." he greeted nicely. "Seto and Jou are already at it again."

"We can see that, Ryou." Yami and Tea went over to the unoccupied seats around the fire pit and sat down. Yugi stood by Yami's side, unsure if he was meant to sit in the empty space next to his master. Yami saw this and said softly, **"Yugi, sit down we are among friends here."** With a small smile, Yugi sat down secretly enjoying the proximity to Yami.

After he sat down, the sandy haired sane one saw him. He seemed to rush over and spoke quickly. "So you're the new hikari, huh? Where are you from? What's your name?" Yugi, startled at the sudden appearance of maybe not-so-sane lavender eyes and not understanding why was said, yelped and hid behind Yami a little. The boy stopped where he stood and asked, "Was it something I said?"

Yami chucked and turned to Yugi. **"It's alright. Malik's just being friendly."** At the sound of the foreign language being spoken all but Seto and Jou, who were still arguing, turned to look at them.

"Yugi's from Japan and doesn't understand much Egyptian." Tea offered up as an explanation.

The insane snowy haired boy nodded and walked calmly up to Yugi and said, **"Greetings. Be I called Bakura. Everything good have be for you?"**

At the sound of such garbled Japanese, the three on the couch started laughing. After deciphering the meeting of the words Yugi got out, **"Nice to meet you Bakura, and everything has been wonderful so far thank you."**

Bakura, meanwhile, was looking at them and wondering why they were laughing. Once Yami got control of his laughs he told him, "Your Japanese needs work, my friend." He then translated what Bakura had said to Yugi and everyone laughed after.

While they were laughing Yugi asked Yami, **"Why can he speak Japanese, though badly?"**

" **Bakura has been my friend for almost six years. My mother taught him some of the language even though he never took to it."**

By this time Bakura was trying to get everyone to stop laughing at his blunder with empty threats when his double came to his rescue. "I think it's time for introductions. Seto! Jou! It's time to get acquainted with our new addition."

For the first time, the arguing pair noticed that everyone else was gathering at the fire pit. They selected with a last glare and took seats opposite the other. The snowy haired boy was the one who kicked off the round of introductions. Yami translated for him and he learned that the remaining snowy haired boy was named Ryou and was Bakura's personal servant.

The other sandy haired boy was named Marik and trained with Malik as apprentice guards. To Yugi's immense surprise, he learned that Marik and Malik shared no familial ties. Both of the boy's hair was crazy, but Marik's did stick up noticeably more. They shared the same deep bronze skin tone and their eyes were almost the same shade of lavender.

The brunette was named Mana and was Mahad's apprentice as a magician in training. She and Yami had been close friends since they were in diapers, though the only Japanese that she knew was 'hello, goodbye, sorry'. She and Yami were like brother and sister.

The real surprise was in Jou, or Jounouchi*. He turned out to be Tea's personal guard from Japan. Anzu had a personal guard as well, a big brute named Ushio who seemed to just wander the palace or go out to the town, doing whatever pleased him and abusing his authority.

After the introductions, Yugi felt more assured about his place there. He now had three people (excluding Anzu) who could talk to him and help him learn the language of his new home. So far, his new life was shaping up well. It was definitely better than being a pleasure slave to a fat old man back in Japan.

Soon Yami, Seto, Bakura, and Marik were engaged in a four way game at the table. Yugi found he made fast friends with Jou just like with Tea. He also felt a connection with Ryou and Malik when he found out they both were hikaris just like him. It felt good to have two people he could relate to on such a level. Mana also seemed kind to him and was quite helpful and playful even demonstrating some of the magic tricks she learned.

Before they knew it the four boys' game was winding down with it ending up being between Yami and Seto with Yami coming out on top. All the while, Yugi was watching how Yami acted around his friends and the group's interactions in general. There was a time when Ryou swayed at Yami for something he said and Yami just laughed. It was a shock to him to see that this group of friends could act the way they did. If Ryou had done what he did in public and not private, he, a slave, could be executed for it. Everyone was treated as equals. It warmed Yugi's heart to think that they were willing to accept him in their fold.

The group of ten were chatting pleasantly with Yami, Tea, and even Jou translating for Yugi. Yugi learned of many of their antics, which since Anzu and Vivian arrived, consisted of pranks on them. It was after a funny story about how Marik, Malik, Bakura, Jou, and Mana managed to lure the two into the stables, then set a horse look to make them fall in manure, that Jou asked, **"So, Yugi, how did you end up here in the first place?"**

Yugi stopped laughing abruptly at being asked such a sudden question. His smile faded and he was taken back to five months ago, remembering in a haze of grief and fear how he had fled his home the morning he found that his grandpa had passed on in his sleep. In vain, because he didn't even make it ten miles before the slavers that had had their eyes on him for a while found him and claimed him.

Every one noticed the change that came over the young boy. He was subtlety trembling and flinched when Yami touched his shoulder. Jou widened his eyes and whispered, **"You weren't born a slave, were you?"** Yugi could only nod.

Tea snaked her guard and breathed, **"Oh, Yugi, I'm so sorry."**

" **Yah, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I wouldn't have asked the question otherwise."** Jou apologized sincerely.

Yami just put his arm around Yugi and looked at him, contemplating what he was about to say. In a tight voice, he asked, **"Do you have anyone to go back to?"** Something in him made him cringe when he asked that and made him not even want to offer what came out of his mouth next, **"If you want, I could send you back to-"**

" **No!"** Yugi cried. **"I don't have anywhere to back to in Japan. I mean I do have a cousin, but she left home five months ago, with a trading caravan so I would have no idea where she would be."** He buried his face in Yami's chest and mumbled, **"My grandpa died a week after she left, so I wouldn't even have a home to live in and would probably get sold as a slave again."**

Yami didn't have anything to say to that, so he just held the trembling boy while Tea and Jou translated what he said for the others to hear. Ryou got up and took the seat next to Yugi. "Yami can you tell Yugi how I got here?"

Yugi looked at Ryou then at Yami, waiting for the explanation. Yami took a deep breath. **"Ryou asked me to tell you how he got here as well as his story is similar to yours. Ryou's family was wiped out by a sickness and, like you, he was found by slavers and put on sale. The only difference was that the slavers didn't know he was a hikari, so they sold him along with the other slaves.**

" **When he got here, he hardly spoke to anyone because he was afraid someone would find out he was a hikari. Eventually, he became more friendly but he still didn't tell anyone. It wasn't until he was feeling sick and Bakura forced him to go to Isis that we found out he was a hikari."**

Yugi turned to Ryou when Yami was finished and gave him a look that said, "Is that true?" Ryou just nodded. Malik came over then and told Yami something and he translated, **"Malik says that even though nothing like that has never happened to him, he's still scared that something like that might."**

Looking into both of their eyes, one pair doe brown and the other pale lavender, despite the language barrier, Yugi felt that both of them did truly mean to be his friends. Hie eyes teared up at the show of kindness and he pulled both of them into a hug and could feel both of them hug back. When he pulled away Yugi managed to say, "Thank you." Though it was accented, it was still understandable to the two other hikaris.

Time seemed to melt away as the group laughed and joked after that. It seemed like only minutes had passed when in reality it had been hours when servants came and dropped off food for the group. This seemed to be a routine. On their way out, one reminded Yami that he had lessons in one hour. Yami groaned and thanked the servants.

Once both Yami and Yugi finished their food, they bid goodbye to their friends and made their way back to Yami's room. As they walked Yami asked, **"So what do you think of your new friends?"**

" **They're all great."** Yugi felt mildly surprised that he already thought of the others as his friends. **"It feels nice that I can relate to Ryou and Malik as fellow hikaris and shared experiences. Jou and Mana are both kind and funny. Bakura and Marik seem a little crazy, but nice just the same."** Yugi thanked whatever gods were responsible for bringing him to such a life and meeting such nice people.

" **That about sums it up."** Yami smiled. They reached his room soon after. There were things lying about after the two had rushed to breakfast that morning. Yami fathered some scrolls, quills, and parchment then instructed Yugi, **"Just clean up what's in the room and after you're done you can go to the garden if you want. I'll be back in a few hours."**

With that, he left Yugi to clean the room and await his return. It didn't take long to clean the room, and Yugi didn't want to go out without anyone to translate for him, so he started looking around Yami's room. He found a small cabinet near the far left corner of the room, next to the doors for the balcony.

Opening the cabinet, he found it was filled with games. Most he didn't recognize and their instructions were written in Egyptian, so he couldn't read them. Yugi found a checker board and pieces, so he decided to play against himself until Yami came back.

He was halfway done with his second game when there was a heavy knock at the door. Yugi got up to answer it, wondering who it could be. When he opened the door he was rudely shoved aside and a girl with black hair done in two buns and equally black eyes burst into the room.

" _Yaamii,"_ she called sickly sweet, "I'm _soooo_ sorry I was absent at breakfast. Someone pushed me into the pond in the garden last night. Maybe now we can spend some _alone_ time together." She looked around and for the first time realized that instead of Yami in the room, there was a pale slave that kind of _looked_ like him. "What are you doing here _slave_?" she snarled, disappointed.

With a sinking feeling, Yugi realized that this must be the second princess after Yami, Vivian, and she was looking for him. Remembering what Yami had taught him that morning, Yugi respectfully bowed and said, "Prince Yami is at his lessons." He fervently hoped that would be enough for the princess, but he was wrong.

With a vicious slap that sent Yugi sprawling on the ground, Vivian growled, "Answer my question, _slave_ , what are you doing here? And where do you get the gall to call Yami by his new car name?! Only those who are close to him can call him that!", completely ignorant of what the crimson sash around Yugi's waist ment and that even she was not allowed to call Yami that.

Yugi was unable to understand most of what Vivian had said, but he did hear Yami's name again, so he stumbled out, "H-h-he is not h-here." while he was able to get on all fours.

This only seemed to enrage Vivian more because she kicks him in the stomach and shrieked, "I can see that you imbecile! Answer me! Why are you here?!" Instead of try to answer her again, Yugi curled up in a ball on the floor to protect himself from any further attacks.

It was a good thing he did, because when Vivian saw his half finished checker game, she let loose many more vicious kicks screaming, "AND YOU HAVE TOUCHED HIS THINGS?! WHAT DO YOU THINK GIVES YOU THE RIGHT, _SLAVE?!_ "

She stopped her attacks, but only to go to the door and call, "You there, guard, come here. There is a slave in the prince's room that needs to be punished."

Yugi looked out from between the gap in his arms to see the guard that entered, hoping that they could put an end to all this. To his immense relief, he saw that the guard's skin was far too pale to be a native egyptian's, so that meant it had to be Anzu's personal guard, Ushio. He got on his knees and explained, **"I don't know what she is saying, but please help me. I'm the prince's new personal servant, from Japan like you. My master is away at his lessons, if that is what the lady wants to know."**

Another slap from Vivian. "Speak our language, slave!" Yugi made eye contact with his countrymen, pleading with his eyes for help. And wished he hadn't.

Ushio's eyes were by far the cruelest he had ever seen. They were full of a predator like hunger, searching for his next victim. With a wolf like smirk he asked Vivian, "What does this slave need to be punished for?" Yugi's stomach dropped. It seemed the predator had found what he was looking for.

"This slave was in the prince's room without permission, used his nickname without permission, and finally had the nerve to mess with the prince's things." Vivian snorted.

"Well then, this slave needs to be _seriously_ punished." Yugi wanted to run, but his legs wouldn't do what he wanted them to do. While he didn't understand the bulk of what was said, he did hear 'slave' and 'punish' in the same sentence three times so he could figure out what they were talking about.

Ushio grabbed his arm and proceeded to drag him out of the room. **"Wait! Stop! Please!"** Yugi begged, though he knew it was pointless. **"I'm the prince's personal servant! I haven't done anything wrong!"**

The only response he got was a sharp blow to the head and the command, "Be silent." Yugi k pt on squirming, so Ushio picked him up off the floor to restrain him. **"N-n-no, p-please…"** Yugi whimpered.

It was meet with a soulless laugh. Ushio brought Yugi's ear next to his mouth. **"Save your voice, slave, you're going to need it later. I know who you are, only bimbos like that princess don't know who you are. And everyone knows that you are also a** _ **hikari.**_ **"** Yugi flinched at the sheer lust in his voice. **"I have always heard how** _ **tight**_ **hikaris were, now is the time to find out, eh?"**

Yugi's struggling increased ten fold when he heard where Ushio's true intentions were. Before he could scream, Ushio brought his hand up to his mouth to silence him. **"None of that now. You can scream all you want once we get some where no one can hear you."** With that, Ushio went a step further and bit his earlobe. Yugi screamed, but it was muffled by Ushio's hand.

Acting purely on instinct, Yugi bit the hand covering his mouth as hard as he could. Ushio cried out in surprise and that gave Yugi the opening he needed to escape Ushio's grasp. He ran in the opposite direction of where Ushio was taking him and began screaming, "Help me! **Help me! Someone, anyone!** Help me!"

He alternated the cries for help between the two languages, hoping someone would come to his aid. Yugi didn't dare look behind him as that would slow him down. If Ushio caught him, there would be no escape and Yugi refused to be raped by him.

After a minute or two of running, Yugi came across a training area of sorts and spotted familiar crazy hair styles. "Bakura! Marik! Malik! Jou! Help me!" he cried and threw himself onto Malik, almost knocking him to the ground.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" Malik asked concerned. Yugi just sobbed on his chest.

Jou came over and asked the question in Japanese and all Yugi was able to get out was, **"Princess- guard- rape- chasing me- help."** It was more than enough for Jou and Bakura, who went out to check the hall only to find no one there.

They came back and Jou tried to comfort Yugi with a hand on his shoulder, but he jerked harshly away, only letting Malik touch him. **"It's alright Yugi, there was no one in the hall who ever it was, it looks like you lost them."** Yugi just continued to sob on Malik's shirt, showing no signs of hearing what was said.

Malik took Yugi's chin in his hand to see his face and gasped when he saw the darkening bruises. "We need to get him to Isis." he said urgently. The others gasped as well when they saw the bruises.

Yugi's legs refused to move and this time he let Jou carry him to the healing chambers. On the way he started mumbling, **"Yami, Yami, Yami…"** So Bakura and Marik went to go get him. By the time they got to the healing chambers, Yugi was completely out of it.

When Isis got to him, she took in his unresponsiveness, pale skin, and shortness of breath and cursed. "He's in shock. How did this happen?"

She took Yugi from Jou while he explained. "We don't know exactly, he just came running in crying and screaming asking for help. Based on what he was saying, I think a guard tried to rape him."

Isis nodded and put Yugi on a cot. Then she grabbed two blankets and covered Yugi with one and usd the other to prop his feet up. "Did he ask for anyone?" Next she got the cream for bruises and started applying it to his face.

"Yeah, he kept asking for on the way over here. Marik and Bakura went to go get him."

As if on cue, Yami came bursting into the room with Marik and Bakura on his heals. "Yugi!" He quickly rushed over to his side and took his hand. "What happened." he demanded. "I just left Yugi in my room an hour and a half ago. Who did this?!"

It was plain to see that the young prince was furious, smoke was practically coming out of his ears. "From what we could tell when, it seems like a keg a guard tried to rape him." Jou said.

"WHAT?!" Yami shouted. "Who would be stupid enough to try that?!"

The sound of Yami's voice caused Yugi to stir. **"Ya-Yami?"**

Yami's attention immediately shifted to him. **"It's me. It's alright now, you're safe."**

Yugi's other hand went to grasp the one that was holding his other hand and he began to cry. **"Oh Yami, I was so scared. I was just in your room when Vivian came in. She started screaming, then she started hitting and kicking me, then the Ushio, then- then-"** Yugi couldn't go on any more and just started crying. Yami used his free hand to stroke Yugi's cheek gently comforting him softly.

After about ten minutes, Yugi had cried himself to sleep. Isis looked him over and decided that there was nothing more she could do for him accept apply the bruise cream to his other injuries. Yami nodded and picked up Yugi and carried him to his room. His friends left him alone, knowing that he just needed some space to cool off.

Inside Yami was fuming. How dare they lay a hand on Yugi! He was marked as his personal servant, and even then, Ushio was very well capable of understanding what ever Yugi had said to defend himself. If it was true that the bastard had tried to do something as vile as to rape his little one, there would be hell to pay. Regardless, both he and Vivian would have to stand trial for harming his Yugi.

Once he got to his room, Yami layed Yugi down on his bed then sat next to him and waited for him to wake up. He saw that Yugi had been playing checkers, but the pieces were knocked everywhere, probably by Vivian. He put the game away and thought to ask Yugi for a game when everything was better.

Yugi woke up some time later in Yami' bed wondering how he got there. Then, the memories crashed down on him like a wave. When he gasped, he heard Yami's voice come from his side, saying, **"It's okay, Yugi. It's all over now. You're safe."** After it seemed like Yugi had calmed down, Yami asked gently, **"Can you tell me what happened?"**

Looking into those kind crimson eyes made Yugi break down and tell him everything from start to finish. Once he was done he asked, **"What's going to happen now?"**

" **Well, Vivian and Ushio will have to stand trial for what they did. Normally, the punishment for something like this is death, but since they have royal connections, they will probably get off with being on house arrest or something like that."**

" **W-will Ushio still be allowed in the palace?"** Yugi fearfully whispered.

Yami cringed and said, **"Unfortunately, most likely."** Yugi then broke down in fearful tears and Yami couldn't help but ask, **"Did- did the slavers ever violate you like that?"**

To his relief, Yugi shook his head. **"No. They knew I would get a better price if I was still pure. They fed me well and didn't hit me for the same reason. If I miss behaved, they would just punish someone else instead."** Yugi was beginning to tremble so Yami pulled him into his arms.

" **But that's not the first time someone tried to rape me. It happened about five times before. Once when I was eight, twice when I was 10 and 11, and then once a few weeks before my cousin left."** Yugi was crying again now. **"I thought that maybe here it wouldn't happen, but it looked like I was wrong."**

" **Oh, Yugi, I promise that it will never happen again."** Yami had tears in his eyes now, just listening to the broken tone Yugi was using. **"I promise that I'll protect you, no harm will ever come to you again."**

Hearing Yami's heartfelt words made Yugu wrap his arms around him to and just say, **"Thank you, thank you"** over and over again.

Both Vivian and Ushio got the sentences Yami predicted, both were confined to their rooms for two months.

From that day onward, Yami took his promise very seriously. He took Yugi with him everywhere, even with him to his lessons. As it turned out, that was the best thing for the both of them. Once Yugi had a firm grasp of the Egyptian language, he ended up being _better_ than Yami at his lessons, helping him wherever he needed it.

Even when Mahad started teaching the prince magic, it turned out Yugi had a talent for that as well. Yami's ka monster ended up being the magician of black chaos while Yugi's was the little hairball kuriboh.

Yes, since that day, it became an uncommon, even downright _strange_ to see one without the other. Yami even went as far to walk with Yugi to get his own food. There were some that objected to the close bond the prince was forming with a mere slave, but they eventually accepted it.

Life was good for Yugi, Yami, and their friends. But life has a funny way of always throwing in something new to change everything when someone seemingly has it perfect. Being the crown prince of Egypt changes nothing about this fact.

* * *

The beginning was okay right? I can't help but feel I botched the meeting. GAHHH! I will admit that most of my planning for this story is like, at least a year from where it started, so the next chapter will have a ten month time jump. You should be able to figure out why that is. ;P

It's kind of funny, that I started working on this fic in reverse. I started with the end, then worked my way backwards to the beginning. Logically speaking, that means that I can only get better! I hope.

Well, whatever the case, I appreciate every single person who took time out of their day to read this. Even the future readers who are reading this when the story is already completed. Well, whether you're reading this when it's the latest chapter or not, please leave your thoughts down below in a review at least once. Until next time! ^^

*I'm using Jou because I know I'd get sick of writing out Jounouchi every time.


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